World SBK: Qatar, Losail
Olaf Wolff
AllAboutBikes Staff-Writer
Race 1 – Spies Flies
In the tire blistering desert sun, rising in a blazing blue flash and roaring Yamaha thunder from a heat mirage, a new superhero finds his wings. Okay, maybe a wee bit over the top, but not by much.
It would be good if I could say that the most competitive 28 racers maybe ever assembled for a SuperBike competition produced a nail-bitingly contested race – but that would be lying. This one was all about Big Ben – the Racer-Man.
Well, there was that race for 2nd and 3rd between the two Italian manufacturers, Haga (Ducati) and Biaggi (Aprilia) that had its moments. But, from the opening sessions early in the week, every other manufacturer/rider knew Ben Spies was clearly the man to beat. That’s how dominating his performance was leading into race day.
Spies’ less then stellar fifth place start made absolutely no difference, within a few laps Spies was in third behind Haga, with Biaggi leading the way. The three of them quickly pulled away from the pack with Spies obviously pushing the pace, and we had our podium, only the finial order remained undecided.
The rookie Spies had taken both Biaggi and Haga out of their comfort zones and when Haga missed his opportunity to get past Biaggi, Spies instead got around Haga for second place. Within the same lap, feeling the pressure from the Yamaha rider, Biaggi went ever so slightly wide in a turn, leaving the door open enough for Super-Ben to streak into the lead. And that’s all she wrote – Spies was gone – never to be contested. His lead at the checkered was over 2 seconds.
Race 2 – (refer to race 1)
It would be good if I could say the second race went differently, but not so much. The same trio pulled away from the herd within a mere few laps. Only this time Spies wasted no time taking the lead, finishing this race with a 3 second lead. Haga, after some back-and-forth with Biaggi, again held on for second place, and a scant 10-point lead in the overall standings, for now, over Spies.
Let’s recap here briefly shall we. The 24-year-old Texan Ben Spies, three-time AMA Champion, has competed in a total of 4 races in the FIM SuperBike series. After being run into the gravel in his inaugural performance, yet holding on to 16th place, the rookie Spies has won the last three races in a row. Mind you this is over the cream-of-the crop in the world. Spies in fact was the only rider able to maintain sub 2-minute laps throughout the race in Qatar, setting the record with a 1.590 lap. Can’t wait to see what the lad will do once he gains his confidence.
